By Chioma Obinagwam
Two Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs)- PROMAD and AdvoKC have partnered to collate information of eligible Nigerian voters who were denied the right to vote at the recently concluded Presidential elections held on February 25.
Confiance News learned from a press release shared on the official Twitter handle of AdvoKC on Tuesday.
The NGOs noted that they were propelled to launch the data roll because the election showed the promise that Nigeria’s democracy can become: citizen-driven, participatory, and energetic.
The press statement further revealed that the enthusiasm was dampened by widespread voter suppression, either deliberate or not, experienced across polling units in the country.
It said several reports reveal several incidents of intimidation, logistical inefficiencies of INEC, and outright violence. “We are personally aware of a polling unit with about 750 ready voters, of which only 72 had the chance to vote,” it said.
It believes that the impact of this is dangerous, emphasizing that when citizens lose trust in the process, their motivation to participate as active citizens is eroded, which in turn weakens democracy.
“As organisations that have actively advocated for more young people to become more civically active and participate in the democratic process. Promad Foundation and Advokc Foundation have collaborated to launch this online database to gain a data-driven perspective on the depth of the impact of this suppression.
“We are deploying an online form using social and traditional media channels to actively gather the data of Nigerians who could not vote because of the inefficiencies of INEC logistics, breakouts of violence, the inability of BVAS to accredit them, or other realities that disenfranchised them.
“We, therefore, enjoin other Civil Society partners, development organisations, media organisations across the country and the general public to share this form with every individual that could not vote despite coming out to.
“It is important that we acknowledge and applaud the sacrifice of these voters, and even if they cannot be restituted. With their help, all of us can use the findings to work with INEC and other critical stakeholders to ensure that incidences like this become scarcer,” the statement disclosed.
Highlighting the importance of the voters’ roll, PROMAD Foundation stated on its official Twitter handle: “Disenfranchised voters deserve to have their voices heard!
If you were unable to vote in the Feb. 25 polls, fill out this form to share your experience and help prevent future disenfranchisement:
Confiance News also gathered that the form would be open from February 28 to the 10th of March, 2023.
PROMAD is a civic-tech organisation that works to empower citizens and participation for good governance and sustainable development in Africa, whereas AdvoKC is a youth-led organisation using technology and other means to track governance performance and promote accountability.
